Affymetrix Posts Flat Q3 Revenues as GeneChip Sales Increase

NEW YORK , Oct. 24 – Affymetrix reported flat third-quarter revenues despite increasing sales of its GeneChip product increased, the company said on Wednesday. 

Affy's overall third-quarter revenues totaled $55.4 million, compared to $55.8 million for the same period one year ago. Product revenue increased to $47.3 million from $45.4 million for the year-ago quarter, the company said. 

This included sales of 70,000 GeneChip arrays, up from 50,000 for the third quarter 2000. The company also shipped 48 GeneChip systems, bringing its total installed base to 540.

A portion of the company’s product revenues, totaling $3.1 million, was derived from sales of GeneChips and related products to spin-off Perlagen Sciences. That company is seeking to perform population-based studies of genetic variation using whole wafers of GeneChips.

Other revenues from research, license fees, and royalties declined to $4.4 million $10.4 million in the third quarter 2000.

This shift in revenues reflects Affymetrix’s implementation an overall altered strategy — which President Sue Siegel detailed in the previous quarter’s conference call — to focus sales and marketing efforts on its core GeneChip product rather than on arraying equipment and licensing deals.

During the quarter, the company’s overall expenses increased slightly, to $63.2 million, from $57.6 million year over year. This increase includes a rise in R&D costs to $16.6 million from $13.7 million for the third quarter last year, but a decline in selling, general, and administrative costs to $21.4 million from $25.5 million for the year-ago quarter. Other added costs included $4.7million in amortization of stock and purchased intangibles.

Affymetrix’s losses for the quarter totaled $4.8 million, or 8 cents per share, beating Wall Street’s expectations by three cents, according to a poll of nine brokers conducted by FirstCall/Thomson Financial. However, losses would have been greater, if the company had not recorded an extraordinary gain of $1.7 million triggered by its repurchase of convertible subordinated notes.

At the end of the quarter, Affymetrix reported total current assets of $443.1 million. 

Shares in the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company closed up $1.57, or 7.87 percent, to $21.53 in Nasdaq trading on Wednesday.